Moshi Moshi

Yocchan’s beloved father, along with his supposed mistress, dies in a horrific murder-suicide, turning Yocchan’s and her mother’s lives upside down. At this challenging juncture, many changes occur. Yocchan moves into a little apartment and works in a restaurant under a chef whose barley salad changed her life. The Tokyo neighborhood of Shimokitazawa has healing qualities that both Yocchan and her mother find reassuring. Yocchan’s mother moves in with her, since her dead husband seems to be haunting their condo. Yocchan has a recurring nightmare that her father is trying to find the phone he left behind; she feels he wishes to contact her to explain his inexplicable decision to end his life. Originally written as a serial novel, Yoshimoto’s story periodically repeats information to keep the plot fresh in audiences’ minds. This device is a little off-putting in the audio version, narrated by Kathleen Li. While Li infuses the story with warmth and evokes empathy for Yocchan and her family, the choppiness of the structure impedes the lyricism of Yoshimoto’s storytelling.